Description: It takes just the right bait to get Rugal off his ship to participate in SNF fo r a weekend. The rune covered tablet discovered in a dig site in Peru just so happens to be it. Stepping before the cameras, Chizuru is forced to battle a menace from her past. Only, Rugal is able to use all his knowledge from their previous encounter to see past her illusions, giving her a very difficult opponent to face. (Winner: Rugal)
As much as he studied the footage of the weekly matches put on by Howard Enterprises, Rugal had to date never taken enough interest in the SNFs to participate himself. Leave it to those creative officials to come up with just the right bait to draw him off his aging aircraft carrier and make an appearance before the cameras on worldwide television. It's no great secret that Bernstein's assets have been put to use in securing relics, artifacts, and other unusual finds from around the world whenever possible. And apparently this time Geese's people have decided to use that interest of his to draw him out.
The invitation to appear came, perhaps as a result of his own tampering with the SNF broadcast a few weeks back to feed the world the images of his own fight against the Kyokugen practitioners. Step up and fight for the privilege of getting information about a certain tablet covered with curious symbols that had yet to be fully deciphered.
Rugal decided to humor the request. Especially when he saw who his opponent was. That Chizuru would have an interest in the discovery is not a surprise. Perhaps Geese's people used the tablet as bait for her as well.
The fight takes place at the dig itself. Not far off to the side is a small clearing where a black, unmarked chopper rests - Rugal's ride in and out of this event. The audience is thin. Not many would make the arduous trek to this far off dig dig through the hot, humid jungles of Peru. Just as well, figures Rugal. He has enough enemies in the world that stepping out into the open like this isn't a common event. The fewer in attendence the better.
The location for the fight itself is right smack dab in the middle of the dig. Square pits have been dug all around with wooden planks and scaffolding criss-crossing over the top of them. There are ruins on top of the dig-pits as well. Stone walls covered with messages carved in ancient times lie mostly in ruin. Pillers, half sunken into the soft earth, lean to and fro in some directions.
Standing along a narrow land bridge with square dig pits on both sides and a small temple behind him, Rugal waits at the ready. Dressed to the gills as always, he hasn't even shed his suit coat in spite the smothering heat. A thin black scarf hangs open around his neck and his right hand plays with the end of it, folding it and unfolding it as the final preparations for the fight are nearing an end. This will be a battle to remember he thinks to himself with a smirk. Unfinished business from the past to be dealt with once and for all.
Chizuru, unlike Rugal, occasionally enters SNF matches for her own purposes. She's never said what they are, and she isn't in every week or even every other week - but she has shown up often enough to be known and remembered.
This was one that she simply could not let slip by. Chizuru also has enough interest in relics and artifacts to be drawn to this match like a magnet; even if she feigns her normal level of detachment, she really isn't. Not today. This may be important.
Or it may be nothing at all, but she won't know until she gets there and, ideally, wins.
Chizuru enters without any fanfare. She had her own method of transportation, but apparently it dropped her a little ways off, since her helicopter (or whatever) is not visible from the pit; she walks the last bit of distance toward it and onto the land bridge, calmly as always. "Bernstein," she says, with little inflection in her voice, once she sees him already there.
"Chizuru Kagura," comes the deep voiced reply from the blond German. He looks eager for this chance to face her again. Their last conflict so long ago was a narrow fight for the then younger Bernstein and he's been itching for another shot to prove to himself that it wasn't a fluke for all the years since. But his aloof, aristocratic demeanor prevents him from looking as truly enthusiastic about this encounter as he really feels inside.
"Once again you come between me and something I seek. We already know how that went for you last time. Unfortunately, history has a way of repeating itself..." What a coincidence, really. Surely Howard's people knew nothing of their last battle on that distant, small island. So even the people behind the cameras don't know of the history behind the two combatants.
He adjusts his coat, extending his arms in front of him with a quick motion before pausing to adjust the fingerless, black leather gloves worn tightly over his hands. The fight is seconds from beginning and he is ready to get this on. Lifting his hand, he gestures toward the stoic woman, "But come all the same and test yourself against my power once again. I humbly offer you the chance to prove that it what happened before was merely a lapse in good fortune. Maybe you have what it takes to atone for that failing so long ago..." What a swell guy.
COMBATSYS: Rugal has started a fight here.
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Rugal 0/-------/-------|
Chizuru was not looking forward to the fight...only to obtaining information. It isn't her way to be particularly bloodthirsty, and she is quite aware that Rugal is rather powerful...although with what she did with Vega, she is perhaps more confident in herself than she would otherwise be. Possibly more than she should be.
"History only repeats if we do not learn from it," Chizuru says, a hint of a smile visible around the edges of her mouth. "I make it my job to learn what I can so that mistakes are not repeated, while you seem to make it yours to repeat the follies of history."
She glances down, into the pit, and then sidelong at the cameras. He had more time to scout the terrain than she did; she'll just have to play it by ear, much as she hates doing anything with no preparation. That said, she's certainly prepared to fight Rugal many times over...just perhaps not here.
After another moment of mental preparation, Chizuru perhaps uncharacteristically takes the initiative. She rushes toward Rugal in a low run, one hand held in front of her and the other down near her side; she twists around him when she gets there, even on the narrow confines of the land bridge, and brings the side arm around in a sweep toward the back of Rugal's legs.
COMBATSYS: Chizuru has joined the fight here.
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Chizuru 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Rugal
COMBATSYS: Rugal interrupts Quick Throw from Chizuru with Medium Punch.
- Power hit! -
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Chizuru 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Rugal
"We'll see about that," comes the gruff reply as the man straightens his back, raising his head high. His left arm hangs relaxed against his side while his right hand continues to idle caress that scarf of his. Everything about his posture suggests he is going to let her make the first move, inviting her attack, oozing with confidence that may or may not be entirely justified.
Room to maneuver on the land bridge is sparse to say the least, forcing a direct confrontation right at the start of the fight. Naturally where things go from there remain to be seen. The tall man is swift to react once the Guardian takes the initiative he so 'generously' gave her. Perhaps it was merely a ploy to get her to take a chance because he snaps into action with blinding speed as she slips around him.
Turning around he manages to catch her as she takes a chance at going for his legs, his right elbow coming crashing down into the top of her head before his left hand, going from relaxed to deadly in an instant, comes forward to sock her in the shoulder with incredible force. "HAH!" he exclaims as he pulls his hands back, now adjusting his posture into something vaguely like a ready stance, one leg forward slightly, one arm raised at an angle in front of him while his right arm cocks back as if primed for striking.
For all the pompous dramatics at the outset of the fight, Bernstein is treating this encounter with destructive seriousness. "This fight will be a place to judge just how much you have truly learned, Chizuru." he grunts, fingers flexing in his hand as he braces himself.
Rushing was a mistake.
Chizuru felt that almost as soon as she got to Rugal, but by then it was far too late for her to pull back and turn it into a feint. It isn't her style - it's something Kyo might do, but she normally does not, preferring to play things safely and defensively until her opponent provided an opening for her to exploit.
Both the elbow strike to the back of her head and the solid punch to her shoulder strike Chizuru solidly, causing her to abort even trying to trip him; she instead twists to ensure both her feet are solidly planting instead of pitching off the edge of the bridge.
Despite the fact that it must have hurt, Chizuru makes little sound and still seems to be moving relatively fluidly. It's early in the fight yet. She can recover, and do something a little more suited for her. She backs up across the bridge, taking a few fluid steps backwards, right hand raised near chin level. "I would imagine," she says after a moment, "that you believe you have learned more than me; I suppose we'll find out, whether we want to or not."
Mostly, Chizuru watches. She is not called the Watcher for no reason.
COMBATSYS: Chizuru focuses on her next action.
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Chizuru 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Rugal
As she falls back and stays there a slow smirk crosses Rugal's expression as his stance relaxes again, no longer having to wait for the attack that doesn't come. "Mere learning doesn't alone explain how I've become more powerful since that day. It is a component of the greater whole that is my being now. I have tested myself against the titans of the earth and shattered them. What hope do you think you have against this level of power?!"
His voice escalates as he lunges forward from where he stood. The next attack is with his legs instead of arms as he strikes out with an aggressive side kick with one foot, then turns around to lift his black leather shoe covered foot up and bring it crashing straight forward into the woman's stomach.
The attack is slower than his first assault, indicating that he's trading speed for power now. But the angles he keeps are conservative, using his height and long legs to try and keep her at bay, lending to his ability to defend himself against any attempt to attack him back.
COMBATSYS: Chizuru dodges Rugal's Medium Kick.
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Chizuru 0/-------/-----==|=------\-------\0 Rugal
Trading speed for power against Chizuru is occasionally a bad idea. She's fast, when she wants to be - and right now, she wants to be. She tenses as Rugal moves towards her, and then leaps forward, achieving a surprising height as she arcs right over Rugal's head to land behind him.
She does not give him time to recover. "As have I. I do not sit idle, waiting for you to threaten again," she says, at almost the same instant she launches into her attack; Chizuru steps forward, shimmering as she appears in two places at once, one image remaining back while the other leaps forward with a downward palm thrust.
The image approaching Rugal vanishes several seconds after appearing, but by then it may have done its job. Chizuru herself remains back slightly, still waiting for Rugal to approach her rather than vice versa.
COMBATSYS: Rugal interrupts Choumon no Isshin from Chizuru with Genocide Cutter EX.
- Power hit! -
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Chizuru 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Rugal
He remembers well that blinding fast speed. To mortal eyes, Chizuru may literally seem to teleport out of the way of his sweeping kicks. But it is through the eyes of a man who believes himself to be nearly a god that he watches the woman's evasion, that right eye of his, a 'gift' from Goenitz's wound so long ago, flares red, enhancing his ability to see her movements for what they are.
He turns around as she lands on the other side of him, his expression curling into a smirk of confidence. He's ready for her illusion based attacks, however, and as the second copy lunges forward at him Rugal simply charges through the illusionary duplicate, powering through the palm thrust, seemingly barely phased as his foot strikes out, seeking the chin of his unfortunate target, "Genocide-" he growls, launching the both of them into the air with the brutal force of the dreaded attack. "CUTTER!" Bernstein exclaims as he brings his other leg down into her stomach, driving her back down to the ground as he follows behind to land on his own two feet.
"You have crushed tyrants of your own, Chizuru. Recently even... Yes, I know all about Lord Vega and your meddling there." Thanks to an eye-witness account of one of those present for the last battle in Thailand. "However," his voice lowers, filling with malice, "Compared to me, fools like him are NOTHING!"
The illusion, when struck, vanishes like morning mist in the sun; Rugal caught it before it was fully formed, and while the chi has to discharge /somewhere/, it's not nearly as powerful as if it had finished resolving before he touched it.
Chizuru does not vanish like mist, although she wishes, for a moment, that she could. She arcs up as the foot catches her almost perfectly under the chin, launching her up - and then down, as his other foot strikes home. She strikes the bridge with enough force to make it vibrate in place, at least a little - even rock will if you hit it hard enough to nearly crack it, which she just did.
Chizuru stays down for a moment, rolling despite the danger of coming too close to the edge, and only once she is out of range does she stand. This time, however, she presses the attack, rushing forward - twice, the two of her running side by side and attacking with perfectly mirrored mid-line strikes with the side of her hand. "Then you know. Good - I did not want to tell you /everything/."
COMBATSYS: Rugal blocks Chizuru's Shinsoku no Norito.
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Chizuru 0/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Rugal
When she comes for him again, Rugal has braced himself. And when her hands slice out toward him, each of his powerful arms rise to meet them, sleeve covered arms intersecting the sweeping strikes on either sides. There is a soft grunt as he is driven back a little all the same, feet sliding on the surface of the bridge.
As his arms are lowered that confident, calm expression is back. "It's fortunate for you that this is merely a sanctioned fighting event with a bait that piques my interest... I won't finish you here, Chizuru. That time will come, however, should you ever come between me and something I seek again."
The warning is given before he lunges forward again, his arms out at his sides as if he intends to simply barrel right into her. But when he gets close, his right comes in with smashing fist toward her cheek, not afraid to mar the beautiful face of his opponent with brutal blow. His left hand comes in, fingers splayed out as if like a claw as he drives the heel of his toward her stomach with incredible force. "Hah!"
Again there is that hint that he's holding back though rather than going all in with the attack, as if trying to avoid falling prey to her tricks by over committing himself. Indeed, his feet are already digging in as he swings and if his palm press connects, he'll push back on it to put distance between the both of them.
COMBATSYS: Chizuru dodges Rugal's Medium Punch.
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Chizuru 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Rugal
The fact that Rugal is holding back slightly - and Chizuru can tell if anyone can - is a little worrisome, but it also gives her slightly more time to react than otherwise might be the case. If he was following through, this might be a little more difficult.
She pulls back as well, glancing over her shoulder briefly to judge the distance between her and the edge of the bridge. It's close; she might be able to move it onto different levels, or the scaffolding, where she - significantly faster and more agile than Rugal - might have the advantage.
Her backwards step was just barely enough to keep her out of range of Rugal's strong punch. It ruffles the sleeve she brought up to block if necessary, far too close for comfort. Chizuru glances back again, then takes a step in that direction - and then another, as if inviting Rugal to follow her off the land bridge and onto the edge of the pit.
It also gives Chizuru an excellent chance to catch her breath. "I am sure that, if you keep on your path, that day will come to pass, and sooner rather than later," she says, quietly; even her voice is pitched so that Rugal needs to follow her to hear.
COMBATSYS: Chizuru gains composure.
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Chizuru 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Rugal
Playing it cautious with his attacks, while perhaps prudent on a technical level, isn't going to help him take down a fighter of Chizuru's calibur. He's slow to follow at first, having braced, anticipating an attack coming back his way. But none comes and he begins to adjust accordingly.
If she's baiting him toward the edge, he seems willing to take it, dress shoes coming down against the bridge, step by step, as he slowly advances at first, closing the distance between them.
It's almost as if he seems to get the gist of what she's aiming for. No doubt the lithe fighter would like to take this battle to the narrow, rickety scaffolding, where her incredible agility would pay off. But Rugal seems determined to keep her from having the chance as he lunges forward, arms out at his sides, this time clearly intending to sweep her into a clothesline aimed for her stomach and leap off into the pit with her in his arms before driving her toward the ground.
"I think a change in scenery is an excellent idea," he states with caluclated calmness even as he leans forward into the attack, committing his all this time. The fall is only 10 feet or so, so not so deadly as one might fear. It seems he might just be more interested in dirtying her pristine white clothing with a bit of loose, slightly moist earth.
COMBATSYS: Rugal successfully hits Chizuru with Medium Throw.
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Chizuru 1/-------/=======|====---\-------\0 Rugal
Chizuru is used to being thrown in the dirt. People keep trying to do it for some reason; she has yet to figure out why.
Once again, she impacts the ground, but this ground is moist earth rather than more solidly packed ground or rock; Chizuru hits it and would roll if Rugal didn't currently have a grip on her. Instead she just hits it with a muffled grunt as the wind is knocked out of her.
Getting free is, as always, not much of an issue with her, but it takes valuable time, time she could be using to do something more useful. Now at the bottom of the pit, Chizuru glances around to take her options into account before deciding that now, if ever, is the time to press Rugal.
Chizuru's chi flares momentarily, surrounding her in orangish arcs of power as she focuses her entire spiritual essence at a point in front of her. A significantly more solid image appears, immediately launching into a range of attacks; all wide swings, aimed to press him back as much as injure him.
Chizuru herself is not helpless during this time. She waits for a moment, letting the image force Rugal - and then as he passes by, swings her foot around in a kick toward the small of his back with the heel of her boot.
COMBATSYS: Rugal counters Sanrai no Fujin from Chizuru with Scorpion Blow.
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Chizuru 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Rugal
She almost had him when she presses back. Brutally calculating, he hadn't quite factored in the give that the earth would have beneath his shoes as he lands. The woman wrests herself free from her grip as Rugal spends a moment adjusting for the softer soil, his back against the solid dirt wall of the excavation hole. The two fighters are confined now to some degree, though leaping out is certainly not beyond either of their capabilities.
The attack she launches against him is extremely clever. One that he must admit that he would love to mimic if only he could, having not quite been able to push his own mastery of chi in the direction of illusionary forces that posses the kind of powers the Watcher's have. But it's hard to surprise him either with that enhanced vision of his, allowing him to see clearly the difference between the real Chizuru and the mirror image that seeks to do him harm.
"As crafty as ever," he growls as he slides around the duplicate copy with speed that most would not take him for possessing. Having avoided the first half of the assault he is quick to lash out with his hand to preempt any other attack from the real opponent fighting him. His fingers find purchase on the fabric of her clothing as he pulls her in toward him, their faces so close together for a brief moment, his mouth curling into a smirk as he has her where he wants.
"But it's not enough." He punctuates the sentence by turning around with her in his grip and driving the fist of his left hand into the poor woman's stomach while releasing his hold on her garment, intending to send her crashing back into the dirt wall he was pressed against a moment ago.
Chizuru starts to say something.
She stops saying it when she has a fist driven into her stomach, the air once again knocked out of her; even if the attack didn't work, she expected it to at least hold his attention for a few moments! It almost always has, before - both him and other people. Everybody watches the image at least as much as the real Chizuru.
Chizuru crashes into the wall, unable to stop herself. By now she is actually starting to show injury; she moves more slowly than before when she steps away from the wall, and favours her left leg, as if not sure it's going to keep working perfectly in the future.
Feeling the uneven rock underfoot, Chizuru kicks up a stone the size of both her clenched fists from the ground, catching it in her hand before throwing it at Rugal's head. The only purpose of this attack is to convince him to move backwards some more, giving her both time and space to recover in. Her eyes are partially narrowed, now - she's really concentrating.
COMBATSYS: Chizuru successfully hits Rugal with Large Thrown Object.
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Chizuru 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Rugal
Sometimes it takes the more mundane approach to catch someone off guard. Having seemingly become attuned to Chizuru's more deceptive attacks, the tyrant of 'R' is caught completely off guard by the large rock sent sailing his way. He begins to step to the side, but he reacted too late to begin with and it strikes him on the edge of his forehead, causing him to take a step backward. One hand comes up to flick across his forehead, coming away with a small smear of blood from a gash left there.
"Heh," he grunts, buying Chizuru even more time as the crimelord seems amused both in her resorting to the tactic as well as annoyed at his own ability to have avoided it all the same. He really shouldn't have gotten hit by that.
His eyes move from looking at the blood on his fingers to focus once again on Chizuru. She has room to act now as he has backed off quite a ways and shows no signs of coming at her immediately. That right eye of his, now half obscured by blond hair that has fallen down over his forehead a little, lights up again, brighter than before, as he begins to study his opponent actively.
A brilliant fighting genius in his own right, the longer he battles against someone the more he learns about the way they move, how their muscles work, where their strengths and weaknesses lie. It's to Chizuru's misfortune that this isn't the first time he's faced her. Rugal Bernstein seems to always become a more effective killing machine against opponents with whom he has a history to draw upon.
"I wonder how many new tricks you've got up those sleeves of yours," he states, pounding a fist into the palm of his other hand with enough force that the air forced out between his fingers becomes visible vapor for an instant before fading away.
COMBATSYS: Rugal focuses on his next action.
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Chizuru 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Rugal
"Enough," Chizuru says; her plan worked, and she's feeling a little better. She has her breath back, at least, even if her legs and arms are no more intact; every time she moves, there's a stab of pain from somewhere. She blocks it out. Mental focus is a wonderful thing.
Seeing Rugal wait, Chizuru...also waits. She stays in one place, watching Rugal rather than attacking. It is rapidly turning into a staring contest, one that she is unwilling to give up; she always finds out more by watching someone's eyes and feeling for their body rather than simply watching their actions in a more mundane way.
After a few moments of this, she says, "I'm surprised you came at all. The prize may interest you, but isn't it a rarity for you to show yourself in any case?"
COMBATSYS: Chizuru focuses on her next action.
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Chizuru 0/-------/-----==|=====--\-------\0 Rugal
His eyes glare back at her, though at the moment it isn't with hatred or animosity. Rather confidence, a smug sense of superiority. So far, other than taking a rock to the head, the fight has gone as Rugal has willed it. Which is just as he would expect given his confidence in his abilities. Maybe in that moment of reading the man she will find a weakness, but Bernstein is convinced she could stare all day and find no opening in his impeccable skill as a fighter.
"You're right in that regard," comes the admission after a moment. He looks strangely subdued for a heartbeat, "It has been a long time... But I know I can't seize what I seek within the metal walls of my carrier. At times it becomes necessary for the predator to leave his home and hunt - even risking the light of day."
And then he comes at her again, taking a step forward before lunging into a low flying kick aimed for Chizuru's shoulder. If it connects, his trailing leg will swing around forward, seeking to strike her head, perhaps crushing her right back into the dirt wall behind her. When performed by members of the Kyokugen clan, the attack might be accompanied by a herald of 'Hien Shippu Kyaku'. But Rugal is silent as he attempts to drive his legs into the woman.
COMBATSYS: Rugal successfully hits Chizuru with Medium Kick.
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Chizuru 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Rugal
Chizuru knows, in that instant, that she is still outclassed, no matter how much she doesn't want it to be true. She did better than this against /Vega/ - Rugal is something else, and something that, to her, is actually more frightening. Vega may be powerful, but he didn't really seem to plan very well. Rugal does, as well as she does.
She makes no sound as she's plowed into the wall behind her again, hitting her prior impact point almost perfectly and causing dirt and stone to shower down around her. It's getting desperate; she's not going to be able to keep doing this for much longer, and she knows it.
And so Chizuru leaps. She reaches behind her, grabbing the edge of the wall backwards and pulls herself up with nothing but her two hands, using her flexibility to her advantage; this means she actually flips backwards until she ends up doing a handstand on the lip of the pit. In her current situation, she can't hold it for long; she rolls backwards, the rest of the way onto the edge and solid ground.
As she goes around in her backwards flip, Chizuru tries to plant one of her feet firmly on Rugal's face. Of course, if he backs up, that may not be an option - but she can try.
COMBATSYS: Rugal counters Heavy Kick from Chizuru with Fierce Punch.
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Chizuru 1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0 Rugal
Every move of his muscles seems to come about as a result of careful, excruciating planning. His movements are precise and the power behind his blows incredible. That Chizuru finds the man a terror compared to the likes of the often irrational, prone to fits of wrecklessness Vega is hardly a surprise. Bernstein is complete control of this fight, alternating comfortably between attacking aggressively and reacting with brutal effectiveness when on defense.
There were close calls, to be sure. Sometimes he took risks, pitting his power against her speed in ways that could have gone poorly for him. But in the end, all of his careful, flawless scrutiny paid off, bringing the two fighters to this point of the bout, where Rugal seems completely nearly unharmed. Even the wound at his head has started to close up, the blood trickle from before all but stopped now as his body regains its strength with an unnatural rate of regeneration.
And when Chizuru makes that attempt to slip free from the man and put space between them, Rugal smirks, stepping forward into her incoming foot as if about to let her smash that rugged visage of his. But the tyrant's left hand comes up, blocking her foot with an iron tight grip, putting a sudden, jarring stop to his opponent's movement as he turns his right shoulder in, ducking down just a little before bringing his powerful fist up into a crushing uppercut into her stomach while he has her held in place.
He puts his full power into the attack, lending leg, torso, and strong arm strength to a single, decisive blow that takes him off the ground into the air as he releases her clasped foot. Were he a practitioner of Ansatsuken, one would expect perhaps a Shoryuken shout from the suited fighter, but again Rugal remains silent, adjusting his trajectory to being into into a landing right on the edge of the pit's ledge, landing lightly, clearly ready for much, much more.
Chizuru's eyes widen, just a little, when Rugal grabs her foot. It's an actual expression of surprise from her, something that's rare - and then she's launched, thrown upwards and out of the pit to land in a battered heap on the side.
She looks unconcious. It seems as if she's not going to do anything - and then she does, very slowly pushing herself to her knees, and then her feet. Chizuru looks like she should be down; she is bleeding now, from where her shoulder hit the rock, and her battered legs can barely hold her weight. It looks like she's standing by sheer willpower and mental focus, presence of mind.
She looks at Rugal, remaining where she is - she isn't sure she can run, at this point. The illusion she summons, which steps forward and then brings its hand upward in a rising chop, is under no such restrictions.
COMBATSYS: Chizuru can no longer fight.
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Rugal 0/-------/--=====|
Chizuru apparently really can't; she slumps again afterwards, unable to remain standing.
COMBATSYS: Rugal counters Tenjin no Kotowari from Chizuru with Jab Punch.
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Rugal 0/-------/-----==|
The man is certain in his victory already. He could feel it when his fist struck home, identifying in an instant with great accuracy exactly how bad off his unfortunate opponent is at this point. She has nothing left in her. Of that he is certain. He begins to adjust his suit coat a little with a bit of a shrug. For once it goes undestroyed by a fight. Not even a drop of blood to stain the red-orange cloth.
Ready to secure the information he was promised for winning this fight, he starts to walk away. Only then does he realizes that Chizuru has more strength left in her than he determined a moment ago. Turning around as she pushes herself to her feet, Rugal's expression is cold, neutral. "Haven't had enough yet?" comes the question as he prepares for another attack.
He rears his hand back, ready to barrel right through the illusionary double and strike the woman squarely in the face to finish her off. But Chizuru collapses forward and the man's fist flies through the duplicate that vanishes along with its creator's inability to sustain it, leaving the tyrant looking a bit foolish as he strikes harmlessly out at nothing but air.
Pausing, he lowers his arm, grunting as he adjusts his coat again, watching the beaten Guardian for a long moment as if to make sure that yes, she's out of tricks for now. Finally satisfied, "Thus you have felt the extent of my power. I am not the man you fought on that island so long ago. There is much... much more to me now." And with that, he finally turns and walks away, slipping the fingerless leather gloves from his hands and slipping them into his pockets. One matter of business has been concluded here. Now it's time for the other.
COMBATSYS: Rugal has ended the fight here.
Chizuru does not rise. She is not unconcious - but she is the next thing to it, and unwilling or unable to stand up all the way, yet.
She does, however, speak. "Apparently so," Chizuru says, weakly. "I will be sure to watch you in the future."
Log created on 18:07:37 07/28/2007 by Rugal, and last modified on 05:53:24 07/31/2007.